


Right Here in My Heart

by Mai_Blade



Category: Harvest Moon: Island of Happiness
Genre: Angst, Death, F/M, Fluff, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-18
Updated: 2018-12-18
Packaged: 2019-09-22 10:49:00
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,419
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17058380
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mai_Blade/pseuds/Mai_Blade
Summary: When does someone die?When they are forgotten, and you never will be.





	Right Here in My Heart

**Author's Note:**

> Used to be a songfic, but deleted the lyrics. The song was from the dubbed Sailor Moon, the one with Rini and Pegasus, 'Since I first met you, you've been in my heart', etc.

“Good afternoon, Elliot,” you smiled, spying the pink-haired man as you rounded the corner of his grandfather’s house.

“Ah, good afternoon,” he smiled in returned, a crate in his arms. “Let me set this down and I’ll be with you in a minute.”

You nodded and then watched as he proceeded to walk across to Mirabelle’s and placed the crate in a steadily growing stack.

He wiped sweat from his forehead as he rejoined you, “Whew. These crates aren’t that heavy but there’s just so many of them.”

You blinked and looked around. “Where’s Julia? Isn’t she usually around here helping you or vice-versa?”

Elliot frowned slightly. “She said her stomach wasn’t feeling too good so I told her to go inside and rest. She didn’t want to but I convinced her that I could do this.”

“And you probably can,” you said. “But there’s no reason why you should do it all alone if you don’t have to. I can help out too.”

“Are you sure? You’re usually so busy in the spring,” he said doubtfully, worried this would put you out.

You smiled, “I’m sure! Besides, if there’re two of us then we can get done more quickly and pop in for a quick newsflash. Julia will probably rest easier if the task is finished and we can check on how she’s doing.”

“Yeah, you’re right,” Elliot said. He smiled. “Okay, let’s do this!”

* * *

You opened the door and stepped into Mirabelle’s shop. You spotted the plump woman behind the counter and you went over to her, Elliot trailing behind you. You waved at Mirabelle to catch her attention. “How’s Julia?”

“She’ll be fine,” Mirabelle smiled kindly. “She just needs to take it easy today.”

Elliot stared across the room to the wall where their beds were on the other side. “Is she sleeping?”

“You can check, just make sure to be quiet,” Mirabelle replied. She frowned slightly. “And if she’s not sleeping tell her she’d better be the next time I check on her.”

“You go,” you told Elliot, giving him a slight push on the back. You smiled as he glanced back at you over his shoulder. “Go take care of her.”

You watched as Elliot crossed the room and disappeared behind the wall. Satisfied they would be all right you turned to Mirabelle to see if she had any five-slot tools for sale, only to blink in confusion to find her staring at you with a tender expression.

“You really do love them, don’t you?” she asked.

You were confused for a moment before realizing what she meant. You smiled slightly. “I just want them to be happy, you know?”

* * *

“I don’t know how to make my father understand,” Sabrina said unhappily, sharing her relationship woes. “He just won’t listen when I try to tell him that Vaughn isn’t just interested in my money.”

“That’s a lie,” you said, startling Sabrina into looking at you in outrage. You lifted your teacup and smiled at her through the steam. “He’s not interested in your money at all. It’s you he’s interested in, Sabrina.”

She relaxed and stared at her tea. “Yes, I know.” She sighed. “But father doesn’t know, and that’s the biggest problem.” She closed her eyes sadly. “And Vaughn hasn’t been back here or talked to me since father practically threw him out that last time.”

You cringed. You had walked in on that scene.

Silence reigned in the kitchen as you both held your cups of tea. After a moment she changed the subject and you had a peaceable visit. After an hour you bid her farewell and went downstairs while she headed to the kitchen to clean up.

You headed straight for the man of the house’s office. “Excuse me, Regis?”

“Ah, come in, come in,” the elegantly-dressed man implored, smiling. “What can I do for you today?”

You walked over to stand in front of his desk. With a deep inhale to steel yourself you spoke. “I realize that what I’m about to mention is none of my business, but for the sake of the happiness of my friends I feel I must say this one thing.”

Regis stared at you. His eyebrow rose. “And that one thing is…?”

You gazed straight at him. “Vaughn is interested in Sabrina, not her money.”

Regis’s face clouded over in an instant at the sound of Vaughn’s name. “You dare to mention that cretin after I have banished him from my domicile?”

“Regis,” you implored soothingly. You stared at him calmly until he was merely bristling. “I am your friend too, Regis, not only Sabrina’s or Vaughn’s. I want you to be happy as well, and I would never recommend a man that would hurt you and _especially_ not one who would hurt Sabrina. I would just like to say that I personally vouch for Vaughn’s character.” 

You nodded slightly and took a step back. “As the subject seems to cause you great anger I will speak no more of this henceforth.” 

You smiled slightly. “See you tomorrow, Regis.”

* * *

Lanna beamed at you from across the table in her house. “It’s my birthday!”

You laughed. “Yes, I know. I didn’t forget.”

Lanna smiled happily as she accepted the gift you gave her. “This is great! Thank you!!”

You clapped your hands together, “So! What are your big birthday plans?”

She lit up. “Denny and I are going to dinner!”

You rolled your eyes good-naturedly, grinning. “Don’t you always?”

“Ah, true,” she admitted, holding up a finger, “But today is gonna be special because today is my birthday.” She placed her elbows on the table and cupped her face, staring up at the ceiling dreamily, “Denny’s sure to remember and get me a fantastic present!”

A bead of sweat dropped down the side of your face. Somehow you doubted that…

* * *

Denny choked, “Lanna’s birthday?!”

You sighed, palming the side of your face as the fisherman panicked, dashing around his shack in search of a half-decent gift. You stared at him through half-lidded eyes, completely unsurprised. After a few moments you tried to get his attention, “Denny.”

Denny held up a hook, “This? No,” he tossed it aside and pulled up something else, “How about this? No, she’ll kill me!”

“Denny,” you said, louder. The fisherman stood in one spot, turning around in a fluster. You walked over to him and grabbed his shoulder, forcing him to look at you. “Denny!”

He blinked, Popper coming to a rest on his head. You released him and took off your rucksack to rummage through it. You found the object you sought and pulled it out, handing it to him. “Here.”

Denny stared down at the glass bowl with yellow contents, blinking in confusion. “What–“

“Yam pudding,” you explained. “It’s Lanna’s favorite thing to eat.”

“You should give it to her then,” Denny said holding it out to you.

You ignored his gesture, eyes closed as you put your rucksack back on. “I already gave her a gift today. I haven’t given you one yet though, so here it is. It’s yours now, so what you do with it is your business, yeah?”

Denny stared at you in amazement for a moment before beaming. “You’re the best, you know that?”

* * *

Natalie raged, “Stop laughing!!”

“I-I’m sorry!” you cried between bursts of laughter, holding your stomach. “It’s just, it’s funny!”

“It is NOT!” Natalie glowered at you. “There’s nothing funny about liking Pierre!”

“N-Not that,” you choked. You giggled. “It’s that, that you like someone!”

Natalie huffed, folding her arms and glaring at you. She yelled your name.

“Sorry,” you chuckled, holding your laughter in. You wiped your eyes. “You like Pierre.”

Natalie scowled at you for a moment before stalking off.

“I’m sorry,” you called after her retreating back. You waved, “See you later!”

“Much later!” she called in retort.

Still trying to hold back your giggles you headed to Chen’s store. You found Pierre there. You grinned and waved hello, “If it isn’t the man of the hour!”

He blinked, “Excuse me?”

You grinned down at him widely. “Natalie likes you.”

Pierre’s eyes widened, “Really?!”

You nodded, “Absolutely!”

Pierre beamed. “This is fantastic!” He turned back to Chen. “On second thought, ring it up my good man!”

You watched as Chen rang up a Blue Feather for Pierre. He turned to you, feather in hand and you gave him double thumbs up and a big smile. “Go for it!”

* * *

“And that’s how, with a small nudge from our good friend, I asked my wife to marry me,” Pierre blubbered. He wiped his tears with the black arm of his suit. “She was always giving me small nudges in the directions I needed to go. She truly was my good friend. She truly was… our good friend. Everyone here has told their tales and from them we know this truth. We… we were lucky to have known her and to have loved her. And I think… I think everyone here… will miss her.”

The small church was packed to maximum capacity and everyone from the island was present, including all the vacationers from Mineral Town. Sabrina sobbed into her handkerchief, Vaughn’s arm around her shoulders, his own expression tight and strained. On her other side Regis held one of her hands, his shoulders slumped. Behind them Natalie blinked her eyes rapidly but she could not stop her tears from flowing. Beside her Felicia wept into her hands, leaning on Taro’s withered shoulders while he patted her knee consolingly. Next to them Elliot held Julia close to him and they both shared each other’s sorrow. Mirabelle held her daughter’s hand and cried into her own handkerchief. Not too far away Karen patted Popuri’s shoulder who wept inconsolably. Cliff gave a shuddering sigh and glanced next to him where Doctor Trent stared at the floor. Cliff knew Trent blamed himself for not being able to save you. There was nothing he could say, and so he settled for placing his hand on Trent’s shoulder to let him know he wasn’t alone and that he certainly wasn’t blamed by anyone else.

On the other side of the church Gannon petted Eliza’s hair as she cried into his side. Beside her Charlie was trying to not cry. Chen, seeing his son, put his arm around his shoulder and told him it was okay to cry, and he did. Behind then, in the dark corners of the church, Shea and Wada watched with pained eyes. Later they would hold a ceremony and pray for your soul to pass on in peace. Sitting in the row in front of the single fathers were Denny and Lanna. Denny held Lanna as she sobbed into his shoulder, trembling from head to toe. The various inhabitants of the island were also present; the fishers, the miners, the cooks, the male farmers and the female farmers… Even the Witch Princess hung around outside the church, giving her own farewells. Everyone was there to say goodbye.

Everyone.

“I’m so sorry,” the Harvest Goddess said. She placed her delicate hand on your white-clothed shoulder. “If I had known something would go so terribly wrong I would have been there to prevent it.”

“I know,” you said softly, your eyes glued on two particular people. “You are the Harvest Goddess, but even you cannot see everything.” You laughed slightly. “Remember the time the island was overrun with vegetables? If you had foreseen that you could have stopped that. And life would be less interesting for it, really.”

At last the people your eyes were glued to came forth to take Pierre’s place. One of them gave him a one-armed hug and thanked him for sharing his stories of you. Pierre joined Natalie and the two took the stage in front of your casket, gazing down at your corpse. Your expression was full of sorrow.

“Mark… my baby…”

Mark turned to the crowded church, his only child in his arms. Tears were in his eyes, as they often were since that dark moment you suddenly slipped from this life without warning. “I loved her. We all loved her. She was our friend, our gift of true friendship. Our happiness was her joy.” The baby gurgled in his arms and he gazed down at his child, his voice trembling. “She was my friend. She was my wife and… the absolute love of my life. This is our baby, the ultimate gift she left for me, for us all, this living image of her. She named our baby and suddenly she was gone.” A thought struck him and he looked up at the crowded church. “Doctor Trent.”

Trent flinched at the sound of his name. Cliff squeezed his shoulder.

“It’s not your fault, Doctor,” Mark said. He shook his head. “It’s not your fault at all, so please, don’t ever think it is. You were her friend, and she was yours. She wouldn’t blame you, and neither do I. Don’t blame yourself, Doctor, please.”

Trent’s shoulders trembled and Cliff heard him sob. You were the first patient he ever lost. You were also the first friend he ever lost. But if your husband could find it in himself to forgive him then Trent could certainly try to do the same for himself. And Mark was right. You would never have blamed him for what happened.

“We’re only human,” you murmured, the Harvest Goddess’ hand still on your shoulder.

“It’s time now,” she said gently. She’d send your soul off safely, as she always did for those who passed on and most assuredly for those who had taken such good care of the land and made such a good life.

You stepped away from her to take one last look at your baby, the child you had barely gotten to hold and name. Your child, blessed as the innocent children are, saw you and gurgled happily. You smiled and touched your ethereal fingers to their soft cheek. Having said goodbye to your baby you turned your eyes upward to your husband.

“I loved her, and now it is time to say goodbye,” Mark wept. He closed his eyes, tears streaming down his face. “Goodbye, my love. May I see you again, someday.”

Tears glittered in your eyes as you leaned forward and kissed his cheek. You leaned back slightly and whispered. “I love you, Mark.”

And then you were gone.

* * *

**To live in hearts we leave behind  
Is not to die.**

**~Thomas Campbell, Hallowed Ground**


End file.
